Isn't that a good question? I was recently asked how I save time and it got me thinking. What do I do in my normal everyday life that might be a time saving opportunity for someone else. Let's see what I can think of.
My #1 time saver would be LISTS. I make a lot of them. It might seem that it would take the time to make the list and you're right, it does, but in the long run you have all your thoughts organized and in one place. You don't have to wrack your brain for you're forgetting or run around looking for something that you're sure you've missed.
#2. iPhone apps. I have apps for lists, for reminders, for appointments and so on. I've only had my iPhone for a few months and already wonder how I ever lived without it.
#3. Make lunches the night before. I used to make lunches in the morning and it was a mess. One week straight I decided I would make them at night and it stuck. The house is quiet, I don't have kids telling me what to put in their lunches or telling me what they like and don't like. The funny thing is, they've never complained about their lunches so I must be doing something right.
#4. Take the time to cut your veggies. I'm always looking for snacks for my family and I find I buy veggies like bell peppers, carrots, celery, etc and take the hour it takes to put them all in zip lock bags, that is enough snacks for the week and it's a healthy alternative to junky snacks.
#5. I keep a cooler in the trunk of my car filled with bottles of water (and some Seattle's Best Coffee for me). If I'm going to be gone for an afternoon to a child's activity, I'll stop and get a bag of ice, dump it in, and presto....water for everyone. I don't have to worry about not having anything to drink. It's a no brainer.
#6. During the school year I get my kids to set out their school clothes for the next day, on their dresser. This way there's no searching and no thinking.
#7. Do it now. I find if you put things off they pile up and it ends up taking so much longer to do. I clip coupons and I find if I don't clip them when I get them they sit in a pile and I look at them, and look at them and then I look at them some more. It takes all that time in my head thinking about what I have to do and I could have had it done by then!
#8. Crock pots. If you are going to be gone all day put supper in the crock pot and let it cook all day while you're gone. When you get home from shopping or work, you don't want to mess with a meal so if it's in the crock pot it's already done for you, not to mention that it's going to be yummy!
#9. Wake up an hour earlier. If you're anything like me, you have a house full of people and animals. If I get up an hour before anyone else I have quiet time to enjoy for myself. I can get a lot more done in that hour because there are no interruptions, no kids pulling me in different directions, no husband getting in my way, and so on.
#10. Take a day to meal plan and write it down. So often we think and think about what we are going to make for dinner and it takes up so much time. If you take a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to plan your meals for the week and the thinking is taken out of it, saving so much time. Thinking does take time after all. It clutters your brain, taking up room that the fun stuff could be instead.
So there you have it, my top 10 things I do to save time in my life. I could probably come up with more but as a woman I've learned, like you likely have, a million different little things we can do to save time, to save our sanity.
What do you do to save time?
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As coffee blenders and roasters since 1970, we’ve seen a lot come and go. We went from a tiny shop on the Seattle waterfront to being declared Seattle’s Best Coffee in a local competition. In 2003, we joined the Starbucks family which has allowed us to place more resources into further honing our special way of crafting delicious, impossibly smooth coffee. Every step of the process, from coffee cherry to your cup, is managed to fit our exacting standards and our premium approach to coffee. Now, we’re making it easier to find your perfect coffee with our new Level System.
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